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𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗡 𝗪𝗢𝗟𝗙𝗚𝗔𝗡𝗚 𝗩𝗢𝗡 𝗚𝗢𝗘𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗣 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛 𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻 𝗪𝗼𝗹𝗳𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗴 𝘃𝗼𝗻 𝗚𝗼𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲 — 𝟭𝟳𝟰𝟵–𝟭𝟴𝟯𝟮 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻 𝗪𝗼𝗹𝗳𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗴 𝘃𝗼𝗻 𝗚𝗼𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲 was perhaps the most important German literary figure for classical music. His poetry, dramas,…

𝗛𝗘𝗜𝗡𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗛 𝗛𝗘𝗜𝗡𝗘 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗣 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛 𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖 𝗛𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗛𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗲 — 𝟭𝟳𝟵𝟳–𝟭𝟴𝟱𝟲 𝗛𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗛𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗲 was one of the most musical poets of the German language and one of the supreme literary sources of the…

## **Yannick Nézet-Séguin — Anecdotes and Curiosities from a Musical Life** **A Conductor Who Began as a Pianist-Partner** Before he ever stood regularly on the podium, Nézet-Séguin spent countless hours **accompanying singers and instrumentalists…

𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐋 𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐁𝐎𝐙 — 𝟐𝟎 𝐅𝐀𝐒𝐂𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒, 𝐅𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐎𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐔𝐌𝐀𝐍 𝐕𝐎𝐈𝐂𝐄 Michel Corboz was never one of those conductors who built a public image around theatrical gestures or celebrity.…

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗩𝗜𝗢𝗟𝗜𝗡 𝗦𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗔𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗖𝗬𝗖𝗟𝗘𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘 Selecting the greatest violin sonatas requires more than identifying the most famous or technically demanding pieces. The essential criterion is the quality of the…

𝗙𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗫 𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗟𝗦𝗦𝗢𝗛𝗡’𝗦 𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗣𝗜𝗘𝗖𝗘𝗦 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗜𝗨𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧, 𝗠𝗘𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗬 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗙𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 Felix Mendelssohn has often been admired for his elegance and simultaneously underestimated because of it. His music appears so lucid, balanced…

𝗢𝘁𝘁𝗼 𝗞𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗻 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗲, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔 𝗥𝗶𝗴𝗼𝗿𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗢𝘁𝘁𝗼 𝗞𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗿’𝘀 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝘆 The recorded legacy of 𝗢𝘁𝘁𝗼 𝗞𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗿 is one of the most imposing…

𝗜𝘃𝗼 𝗣𝗼𝗴𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗵: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗱𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 ⠀ 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗜 – 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗶𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝗻 𝗨𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗜𝘃𝗼 𝗣𝗼𝗴𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗵 was born on 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟬, 𝟭𝟵𝟱𝟴, in 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲, then part of…

𝐋𝐞́𝐨 𝐃𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐬: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐎𝐟 𝐁𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞, 𝐌𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐝𝐲, 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐄𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜 There are composers who change music through force, others through philosophy, and others through sheer theatrical instinct.…

# **The Art and Orchestral Conducting Style of Arturo Toscanini** 1) **The Toscanini Myth and the Real Toscanini** Arturo Toscanini remains one of the defining figures in the modern history of conducting, not only…

𝗭𝗗𝗘𝗡𝗘̌𝗞 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗟𝗔𝗕𝗔𝗟𝗔 — 𝗔 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝘇𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗕𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗗𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗮, 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗼𝘂𝗿, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮 𝗣𝗶𝘁 𝗭𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗲̌𝗸 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗮 was one of the essential Czech conductors of the twentieth century, especially…

# **CHURCH MUSIC (V)** **(Book: **Mozart, His Character, His Work by Alfred Einstein**)** ## The C-minor Mass in Context: Between Bach and Beethoven It has been said—entirely rightly—that this unfinished Mass stands **midway between…

𝗖𝗛𝗢𝗣𝗜𝗡: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗢 𝗔𝗦 𝗔 𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗘, 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗢𝗥𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗔 𝗔𝗦 𝗔 𝗙𝗥𝗔𝗠𝗘, 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗔 𝗔𝗦 𝗔 𝗠𝗢𝗗𝗘𝗟 To say that Frédéric Chopin composed only music for the piano is a useful simplification, but it is…

𝗧𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗿 𝗣𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗰𝗸 (𝗯. 𝟭𝟵𝟰𝟲): 𝗔 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗽𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗱, 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘁, 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗵, 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗹, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗯𝗶𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗜. 𝗔 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗚𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗮 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲…

𝐄𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐖𝐨𝐥𝐟𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐊𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐝: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐲 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐕𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐲𝐰𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐋𝐲𝐫𝐢𝐜 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝 There are composers whose lives unfold within a single world, and there are others whose destiny seems split…

# **ANECDOTES ABOUT KATHLEEN BATTLE** *The angelic voice, the perfectionist temperament, the legend of impossible beauty* ## **1. The Telephone Audition that Started Everything** Kathleen Battle’s first professional break came when conductor Thomas Schippers…

𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐏𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐌𝐏𝐎𝐑𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐒, 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒, 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐀𝐋𝐒 𝐁𝐘 𝐏𝐈𝐄𝐑𝐑𝐄 𝐇. 𝐀𝐙𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐘 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐈 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐒𝐀𝐖 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐒, 𝟏𝟖𝟏𝟎–𝟏𝟖𝟑𝟎 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟑 — 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐂 𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐎𝐑 𝐉Ó𝐙𝐄𝐅 𝐄𝐋𝐒𝐍𝐄𝐑 When 𝐅𝐫𝐲𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐤 𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐧 completed his piano…

𝐋𝐄𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐈𝐍 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐀𝐍 𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃 𝐄𝐗𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐈𝐍 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐂 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄 𝐍𝐎 𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐄𝐋𝐒𝐄 Leonard Bernstein possessed a gift that was almost as remarkable as his ability to conduct and compose: he could explain how…

## 𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐎 𝐓𝐎𝐒𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐈 — 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐔𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑 𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐃 Arturo Toscanini became legendary for stepping onto the podium and conducting vast symphonies, operas and choral works **entirely from memory**. To…

𝗞𝗨𝗥𝗧 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗨𝗥 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Kurt Masur was sometimes characterised as a sober, traditional conductor: dependable, serious, architecturally disciplined and resistant to interpretative eccentricity. Such descriptions are not entirely wrong, but they…

# 𝗡𝗜𝗞𝗢𝗟𝗔𝗨𝗦 𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗡𝗢𝗡𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗧 — 𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗔, 𝗦𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗨𝗔𝗟 ## 𝗔 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗲 𝗕𝘆 𝗔𝗻𝗻𝗮 𝗠𝗶𝗸𝗮, 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗮 𝗙ü𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘂𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗡𝗶𝗸𝗼𝗹𝗮𝘂𝘀 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁 **𝗡𝗶𝗸𝗼𝗹𝗮𝘂𝘀 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁: 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮, 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹** presents the world of opera as it…

𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡 — 𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗞 𝗝𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗡𝗦 — 𝗢𝗫𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗦 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟭𝟮 — 𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗨𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡’𝗦 𝗗𝗥𝗔𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗖 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗞𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗘𝗥 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗪𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗚𝗘 — 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗜𝗧 𝗜𝗡𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗗𝗟𝗬 There was always something dramatic…

𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗘𝗦 𝗠𝗨𝗡𝗖𝗛 — 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 Charles Munch was one of the most spontaneous, incandescent and unmistakably French conductors of the twentieth century. His finest performances combine rhythmic freedom, nervous energy, luminous orchestral…

𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐌 𝐅𝐔𝐑𝐓𝐖Ä𝐍𝐆𝐋𝐄𝐑 — 𝐖𝐇𝐘 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐎 𝐁𝐄 𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐐𝐔𝐄 Wilhelm Furtwängler did not believe that a musical masterpiece could be reproduced like a finished object. For him, a score was not a set…